The invention relates to network techniques, and in particular, to manufacturing process control.
As semiconductor products is increasingly designed smaller, manufacturing processes thereof also become complicated, typically from 100 stages ten years ago, and to around 400 stages today.
Customers of semiconductor foundries (Fabs), about 5% statistically, may have requirements to suspend their products at a particular stage in a Fab process flow. Some stages, such as ME1_PH, PO1_PH, CO1_PH, and others, can hold lot processing, but others can't, such as WAT1CUM3—1, N+S/D1_DI, and others. Additionally, different products comprise different manufacturing processes. These requirements are usually not acknowledged before their products are taped out because customers do not know which manufacturing stages can hold lot processing and how to exactly define these stages, thus complicating suspension of their products. Many interactions and communications, typically using e-mails and telephone, between customers and the foundry are required to manage this issue. This is redundant and unreliable, usually comprising equivocal expressions which may lead to misunderstanding, erroneously implemented operations on their products, and consequently great loss.